Jobs lost as Scotbeef consolidates operations

A Scottish processor has announced redundancies, with a total of 39 staff to leave its business.

Following a consultation process, Scotbeef (Inverurie) said the total number of losses was lower than the projected figure of 70 prior to the consultation.

Scotbeef recently announced a deal with Scotch Premier Meat, part of the ANM Group, which would see the two operations consolidated and, ultimately, relocated at a new state-of-the-art factory at Thainstone Agricultural Centre in Inverurie.

A spokesman for Scotbeef (Inverurie) said: “We very much regret any job losses. However, following the creation of the new business from the former Scotch Premier Meat and Mathers (Inverurie), we have had to face up to some tough decisions about our cost base for the long term good of the company.”

The spokesman added: “As a result of the staff consultation, we have been able to considerably reduce the number of affected positions. We have also been able to retain the Prime Meat (Inverurie) site, following support from Aberdeenshire Council.”

The company also paid tribute to staff for their efforts during the transition period to create the new business and described the changeover as “seamless”.

Scotbeef (Inverurie) intends to concentrate its business at the former Scotch Premier Meat site in North Street, Inverurie. The company is also looking at suitable locations for a new processing facility at Thainstone, which it hopes to begin work on as soon as practicable.

In a letter to ANM Group members, chief executive Pat Machray said: “We are looking at the future development of a new abattoir at Thainstone and already we have come up with various options, but we have not yet decided where we think the best location would be.”

He said once the build was complete, it would release the existing SPM North Street site for sale to developers.